DISINFO: Russia is a guarantor of peace in Europe and the Middle East
SUMMARY
Russia is a guarantor of security. This is simply a statement of fact. It is a guarantor of European security. Secondly, it is a guarantor of Middle Eastern security.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative, attempting to depict Russia as a stabilising factor in world politics. Since 1991 Russia has been involved in several international conflicts, including intervention in neighbouring states, such as Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Many international organisations condemned the Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, e.g. the CSCE statement and the European Parliament's declaration. More information on the Russian invasion of Georgia is provided here. It was also Russia that provoked the war in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted the military presence of Russia in Ukraine in 2015. In 2014 Russia also annexed a part of Ukrainian territory - Crimean peninsula. The so-called referendum on the peninsula was organised in a matter of weeks by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings. The EU does not recognise it. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 68/262, adopted on 27 March 2014 and supported by 100 states, clearly says that Russia's actions in Crimea, as well as the referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, violate international law. Any decision relating to Ukraine's sovereignty or sovereign choices can only be taken without undue external pressure. It can also be noted that the concept of "guarantor of security" is absent in international law.